DETENTION MONITORING TOOL FACTSHEET The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Nelson Mandela Rules outline that prisoner files should, inter alia, include: • precise information on the identity of the person • the date, time and place of arrest and the arresting authority that deprived the person of liberty • the grounds for the deprivation of liberty • the date and time of admission to the place of deprivation of liberty • the date and time of release or transfer to another place of detention, the destination and the authority responsible for the transfer 68 What could monitoring bodies check? • Have prison authorities documented and reported every case of disappearance to an independent investigation authority? • Have independent investigations been carried out into the whereabouts of disappeared persons? • Are persons held only in officially recognised places of detention? • Do all detainees have regular contact with the outside world, with conditions that comply with international standards? • Is ‘incommunicado detention’ abolished in law and practice? If not, are safeguards in place to prevent serious human rights violations during incommunicado detention? • Do places of detention keep official records with the required comprehensive information on all persons deprived of liberty? Effective investigations The effectiveness of an investigation into a death or serious injury in custody, or a disappearance or complaint of torture or ill-treatment, depends on whether a number of elements are met. The main criteria for assessing the effectiveness of an investigation are: • Independence and impartiality • Promptness and expedience • Thoroughness and competences • Victim involvement and public scrutiny The investigating body must be institutionally independent from the authority implicated in the facts under investigation.69 Moreover, all decision makers within the investigation must be procedurally and personally independent from individuals implicated in the facts being investigated, including experts assigned to particular investigative steps (e.g. forensic doctors). The element of impartiality implies that investigators must objectively assess all the evidence before them, not apply double standards when it comes to witness statements (e.g. by lending more credibility to prison staff than to other witnesses, such as prisoners), and make a genuine attempt to clarify contradicting evidence.70 Due to the fact that medical evidence of ill-treatment, including sexual abuse and rape, often disappears after a short time, it is important that the investigations commence promptly. Similarly, the reliability of witnesses’ memories deteriorates over time, and perpetrators can more easily fabricate a story if there is a gap between the incident and the investigation. Delays of several days have been found to be inconsistent with the requirement of promptness.71 Any legal proceedings against alleged perpetrators and/or regarding reparation claims must be reasonably expedient.72 The investigating body must possess the full range of investigatory competences, such as the power to order an autopsy and the power to identify alleged perpetrators and to oblige them to appear and testify. As to the thoroughness of an investigation, instruments such as the Istanbul Protocol and the Minnesota Protocol give detailed guidelines on how to properly conduct an investigation into a death or a case of ill-treatment or disappearance. Finally, alleged victims and their families should be involved in investigative procedures to the extent necessary to safeguard their legitimate interests. They should be entitled to request specific steps to be taken and be regularly informed as to the progress of investigations and all relevant decisions made.73 In general, investigations should be conducted in a transparent manner and allow for public scrutiny.74 What could monitoring bodies check? • Are investigations into serious incidents in custody carried out independently, impartially, promptly, expediently, and thoroughly? • Are the victims and/or their families involved in the investigations? • Is the general public adequately informed of the findings of investigations? • Are the findings of investigations fed back to the prison system with a view to identifying systematic shortcomings? 8 | Penal Reform International and Association for the Prevention of Torture | Incident management and independent investigations